A Kindred Spirit
by Forsaken Heretic
Summary: 12 years ago the Kyuubi was defeated by the Yondaime. Today a strange man approaches the gates of Konoha with his student in tow. Is Konoha ready for them? AU as of chapter 368. Eventual NaruHina
1. Setting the Stage

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.

A/N

I have returned.

I would like to think everyone that has waited patiently for this, I am really happy with what I was able to do.

I would also like to give some thanks to my betas The Black Company and Sasuke1342. They really helped me out on this one and helped fix some mistakes that I would have completely missed. I'll have more announcements after the chapter so enjoy the return of A Kindred Spirit.

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Prologue

Setting the Stage

Contrary to popular belief, man has not always been the dominant power in this world. It is only in the last couple of centuries that they have discovered that which has allowed them to gain such power. Before this the dominant powers in the world were the demons. While all demons where powerful in their own right the most powerful of them were known as the _Biju_, or Tailed Beasts. They were nine demons whose power transcended that of all others, they were forces of nature upon themselves, and as powerful as these 'demon lords' were there was one than stood above them all.

The Kyuubi.

It was a demon fox of enormous power that had for centuries caused unparalleled destruction and chaos across much of the land. It was known to, at times, travel with several other demons that joined in it's destructive rampages. At one time it had traveled with Shukaku the one-tailed tanuki. Another instance had it battling Orochi the eight-headed snake across most of Grass Country for the better part of a decade.

The one constant that was associated with the Kyuubi was its one permanent companion.

The Rokubi

He was a shadowy wraith that killed all in its path. Very few were the survivors that were sane enough to even describe him. Together the two were an unstoppable force that no army of the old world could ever hope to match or withstand. Many people were sure that they would forever be in the shadow of these dreaded demons.

Then one day they disappeared without a trace. Rumor had it that somewhere some mighty army had finally managed to kill the savage demon, others say that the other demons had banded together in an alliance bred of jealousy to kill the demon lord. No one was sure exactly what happened to either the Kyuubi or the Rokubi, but what they were sure of was that for the first time in centuries they were free of the threat of destruction.

In the wake of their disappearance a new group came to power.

The Shinobi Nations.

At the beginning it was only a few small groups that had banded together as a means of mutual protection. But eventually more and more began to emerge and soon appeared the beginnings of the first Hidden villages. At the start they were limited in their abilities with regards towards fighting. The newly proclaimed Hidden Stone village became known for their almost inhuman ability to withstand and deal out physical damage. The small Hidden Mist village were exceptionally skilled when it came to stealth and assasination. Eventually it was in the obscure Hidden Dragonfly village that chakra was first discovered and the beginnings of Jutsu made their appearance. After this new and amazing power come into existence it began to immediately spread to the other villages. As this happened the different nations began to develop their own elemental jutsu. Water Country, with it's abundance of said element began to create many a water jutsu. Lightning Country also created it's own unique jutsus taking inspiration from the unstable weather that their homeland was known for. Steadily the different Hidden Villages began to gather more and more power until the inevitable happened.

It is still unknown as to which side struck first but in the beginning the war was between the countries of Grass and Rain. Eventually however more and more villages began to be embroiled in this conflict which became known as the Great Shinobi War.

In the end the Hidden Rain village was all but decimated, many believed that they would never again become a true hidden village again. The remaining villages after seeing the destruction that had been wrought began to maintain an uneasy ceasefire.

The ceasefire held for nearly forty years, that is until the incident in the Hidden Shadow village. It was here that a young boy named Akira discovered that he had an astounding ability. He had been playing in front of his home when he tripped and cut his hand on a rock. As he began to cry a man came up to him and asked if he was alright. When he showed him his hand the red haired man knelt down and took the injured hand into his own. As he looked into the man's red eyes he felt the pain in his hand diminish and disappear. When he looked down he saw that his hand was completely healed and free of any scarring. When he looked up the man just winked and asked him to keep it a secret, grateful the boy nodded.

It would be another four years before he found out exactly what the man had done.

It had been in the middle of a bandit raid and he had taken a kunai through his upper arm. As he felt his blood running down his arm he watched as one of the bandits came running at him with a spear ready to kill him. He closed his eyes and braced himself for oblivion, but when nothing came he opened his eyes and saw to his shock that his attacker was impaled on a blade formed of the blood that had been running down his arm. It was then that the first 'blood limit' was discovered. Curiously in the ten years that followed this incident there were a whole slew of blood limits that were appearing for seemingly no reason whatsoever. Many members of the shinobi nations were amazed at these new and amazing powers, while others grew to fear and hate them.

It was around this time that the Tsuchikage made a startling announcement. He had declared that those that bore blood limit abilities were 'abominations' that needed to be destroyed. The Iwagakure village then began what became known as the 'Blood Purge' which amounted to the extermination of all those within the Earth Country boundries that possessed a blood limit. At this news many of these individuals attempted to flee from Iwagakure only to be hunted down mercilessly by Iwa Hunter-Nin that had been specially trained to kill those with blood limits. There was one person who was able to gather many of these refuges together and make a run for Fire Country. His name was Bunanoki and, with his remarkable control over wood, he was able to hide his group from the Hunter-Nin long enough for them to cross the border into Fire Country.

When they had finally reached a point in Fire Country at which they could relax they realized that they were not yet safe from the Tsuchikage's purge. They decided that the only way that they would ever be safe would be if they were to band together and form their own hidden village, one that would be able to match or even surpass the strength of Iwagakure. It was decided that the man that led them past the Hunter-Nin parties would have the honor of being the Shodaime of this new village and that they would name the village to honor him and his courage. As such Bunanoki became the Shodaime Hokage and the village was named Konohagakure no Sato.

The Village Hidden in the Leaves.

For just over twenty years he led Konoha in becoming a strong Hidden Village. In these early moments of the village it was not unusual to see the Hokage participating in missions as they were lacking skilled ninjas. He was also seen helping train some of the genin teams, especially his brother's team which included a particularly bright young boy named Sarutobi. It was in the later years of his time as Hokage that fighting broke out between Konoha and several clans that had arrived in Fire Country. After nearly five years of fighting the Shodaime stepped down and named his brother, Onsui, as his successor. It was his belief that his skills would be of better use on the frontlines of the fighting rather than stuck behind a desk in Konoha.

For almost a decade the combined clans of the Inuzuka, Aburame, and the Hatake fought Konoha to a standstill. Slowly Konoha was gaining the advantage when both the Uchiha clan, which was native to Fire Country, and the Hyuga Clan from Lightning Country joined their forces. Unfortunately the Tsuchikage was beginning to hear stories of the multiple clans that were fighting in Fire Country. Both Bunanoki and Onsui realized that it was only a matter of time until the genocidal Stone village attacked them, and it would be best for Konoha if the battle was only on one front. It was then that the two issued a challenge to the leaders of the opposing clans. They would fight all three clan leaders at once, the winner would issue demands that the opposing forces would be required to follow.

The opposing clan leaders readily agreed.

The battle took place in an open plain almost two days northwest of Konoha, almost at the border with Tea Country. The five shinobi fought in a manner never see before in the Hidden Nation. Their battle lasted for almost two days and when it was all over the plain had become a great valley with a lake formed from the numerous Suiton jutsus that the Nidaime used. In the end the two brothers stood victorious over their foes and when they made their demands they shocked the wounded clan heads. Instead of their lives or servitude the two Konoha nin only asked for their help in the coming war. They explained that the Tsuchikage would stop at nothing to destroy anyone that possessed a blood limit regardless of who they were. It was only a matter of time before he marched onto Fire Country and their only hope for survival was if they all banded together to strengthen one another. The clan heads quickly agreed and soon Konoha made preparations for war.

It was five years after the Fire Country Clan Wars before Iwagakure finally attacked and when they did they came with the full force of their village. Despite being heavily outnumbered Konoha was able to hold their own against Iwa for almost fifteen years before tragedy struck. The Shodaime and the Nidaime had been evacuating an outlying village that was in between the two warring nations when they came upon a force of over 700 enemy nin that was massing nearby. Knowing that it would take almost two days for the refugees to reach Konoha the two brothers did the only thing that they could to delay the invading army.

They attacked them head on.

When the dust settled less than one hundred enemy shinobi had survived the attack and the majority of the survivors were severely wounded.

As for the two brothers.

Both the Shodaime Hokage and the Nidaime Hokage fell in battle that day. One week after their deaths the Elder Council of Konoha chose their student, Sarutobi, as the Sandaime Hokage. For the next decade the war raged on betweent the two Hidden Villages and it seemed that Konoha was being gradually being worn down by the conflict. It was at this time that the Hero of the Third Shinobi War made his debut on the field of battle.

His name was Namikaze Minata otherwise known as _Konoha no Kiroi Senko_, or Konoha's Yellow Flash.

His skill in battle was unmatched on either side of the conflict. His tactical skill allowed him to turn even the bleakest of moments into tremendous victories. Singlehandedly he turned the tide of the war into Konoha's favor and led their march into Earth Country itself. It was there, not thirty miles from the gates of Iwagakure, that he ended the war with the death of the Tsuchikage, the man who had led the war against Konoha from the very beginning. When the war weary shinobi returned home it was as heroes. The forests of Fire Country rang with songs that told of the brave Konoha shinobi. After nearly two weeks of celebrations the Sandaime made a surprising announcement. He would be stepping down as the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. As his successor he chose the Hero of Konoha, a very embarrassed Minata. It was then that the citizens of Konoha declared that they had entered the golden age of their village, but unfortunately such a thing would not come to pass for not two years later...

"NARUTO NO BAKA!!! NO SLEEPING IN CLASS!!!"

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**Ninja Academy, Konohagakure no Sato**

The sleepy blond stared bleary eyed at his fuming teacher, trying to ignore the rest of the class that was laughing at his plight. The boy chose his words carefully before responding.

"Neh, Iruka-sensei what does the history of Konoha have to do with being a good ninja?"

"WHAT???"

"I mean I already know that first there was the Shodaime followed by the Nidaime who was followed by Sandaime-jiji who was followed by the Yondaime and then it went back to Jisan again. So what more do I need to know?"

The class once again laughed at his foolishness as they waited for Mt. Iruka to erupt once again but before he could the bell rang signaling the end of the classes at the academy. As the group of six year olds made their way Iruka reminded them that there would be no classes the next day because of the festival.

When the class exited the building almost all of the students were met by their parents the one exception being Naruto. He watched glumly from his swing as the other students regaled their parents with the days lessons and events, he saw more than one give him a dark glare. _"What did I do to receive such cold looks?"_ he thought. He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps behind him. When he turned around he smiled with glee before launching himself at the figures.

"Hokage-jisan!!! Anko-nechan!!!"

The eighteen year old chunnin grinned at the blond before ruffling his hair fondly. "Hey brat, how was the Academy?" She asked. The blond growled in annoyance before responding, "It was _booring_ we had to listen to Iruka-sensei go on and on about history of all things. Why can't we just skip to the fun stuff like jutsus or fighting?" Anko smirked before answering, "Because you've been in the Academy less than three weeks brat. You won't learn any 'fun stuff' for another year." "Awww that's no fair!"

The Hokage watched in amusement as the two squabbled and he thought back to when the two first met.

FLASHBACK

The Sandaime was buried in paperwork when suddenly the doors of his office flew open to reveal a three year old Naruto leading a very agitated genin. When the Hokage got a look at Naruto he immediately took note of several injuries but for some reason the young jinchuuriki was practically beaming.

"Naruto what happened to you?"

Naruto immediately began speaking.

"Iwasgoingtogetsomerameandtheseguyscameand..."

As Sarutobi tried to decipher what Naruto was saying the genin chose that moment to speak up.

"Some drunken idiots were beating him and chose to ignore me when I told them to stop so I broke their arms and legs."

It was then that Sarutobi recognized the genin as Mitarashi Anko, the former apprentice of his former student Orochimaru. "I see," the Hokage said finally, "and where was his caretaker during this?" At this Anko began to sneer, "He was one of the ones I busted up." At this the Hokage's shoulders slumped. That was the eighth caretaker that had tried to do Naruto harm, he was beginning to run out of options. It was then that he heard Naruto's commentary of the genin's actions.

"... and then Anko-nechan went POW and BAM and then the one guy was all 'please don't hurt me please don't' and then she went..."

At Naruo's mentioned of 'Anko-nechan' Sarutobi got an idea.

"Anko it is good you're here right now. I have an important assignment for you. It is potentially S-ranked and will be an ongoing mission."

At this Anko looked at the village leader in shock. "He is trusting me with an S-rank mission?" she thought, "finally someone is beginning to trust me with something important."

"I want you to look after Naruto."

At that Anko's world came crashing down around her.

Later Outside the Hokage Tower...

Anko watched sullenly as Naruto began wolfing down the dango that the Hokage had bought for them before he went back to work. Even the sweet dumplings did little to improve her mood much as she bemoaned her 'S-rank mission'. "I have to look after this brat? I can't believe this, the Chunin Exam is in less than four months and not only do I not have a team but I also have to babysit the foxboy?"

It was then that Anko noticed that the boy was looking at her intently as if he wanted to ask her something. "What?" she asked tiredly. "Neh, nechan can we go visit those guys in the hospital. The ones that attacked me?" Naruto asked. "Why would you want to do that?" Anko responded, confused at the boy's words. At this Naruto grinned mischievously, "I just want to give them a nice 'get well' card is all," he said innocently.

At this Anko grinned sadistically.

One hour later screams were heard throughout the hospital as three men received get well cards that were laced with interrogation grade itching powder.

END FLASHBACK

Sarutobi watched as Naruto was pulled into a headlock by Anko who proceeded to knuckle his hair roughly. He chuckled at Naruto's protests before clearing his throat to gain their attention.

"Ahem... Naruto I was talking with Anko and I thought maybe I could treat you to some ramen today. What do you say?" At the offer of his all time favorite food Naruto began dancing around happily shouting with joy. Both the Sandaime and Anko laughed at the display as they made their way to the ramen stand.

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**Ichiraku Ramen Stand, Konohagakure**

Naruto was in heaven.

His day had started getting good when had been met by his nechan and jisan outside of the Academy. He had always felt a little sad before when he was the only one that left class alone. But on the days that his nechan met him he always knew that something good was going to happen. Even better was the fact that Hokage-jisan was footing the bill for the ramen.

That meant he could eat as much as he wanted for once.

Next was when he had gotten a pair of birthday presents early this year. Although his birthday wasn't until tomorrow he had gotten a present from both Hinata and Sasuke. They told him that their fathers had insisted that they give him something althought they had not said why. From the Hyuga heiress he had received a pair of goggles that he thought looked very cool. When he told the girl this she blushed before she began poking her fingers. He just chalked it up to usual weirdness he associated with girls. Next he got a full set of new kunai and shuriken from Sasuke that his older brother had helped to pick out for him. He gave his gratitude towards the much needed replacements, his old ones were almost completely useless.

What had really made his day even better was when Anko told him that their prank had gone off on one of the council members that had insulted Naruto a month ago. Supposedly they were looking into to skin transplants in order to get the paint out.

As Naruto finished his twentieth bowl of ramen he took a look at the only other person that was there. When the three of them had arrived at the ramen stand everyone else took one look at him and left, with one exception.

He was a man of rather average height that was on the thin side, in fact he looked to be very tired and underfed. His long black hair was pulled back into a pony tail that ended just above the small of his back, a few locks of his hair were free of the small piece of leather that held it in place and obscured his right eye, the hair itself had several streaks of silver running through it. He wore a coal gray shirt that covered his throat and ended just past his elbow on the right arm and was covered in a plated armor that covered almost all of his left arm from his shoulder down to his wrist. On his hands he wore a pair of fingerless gloves that had matte black metal plates mounted on them. His pants were grainy gray that seemed almost black in the right light, they were tied down with bandages from mid shin on down and ended just above a pair of shinobi sandals. Over all this he wore a dark cloak that was held together with a metal clasp that was in the shape of a wolf's head. Beside him lay a battered katana that looked like it had seen better days.

But the one thing that drew Naruto's attention were the man's eyes. They were blue much like his own but they were several shades lighter, a shade that almost made the man seem insane. They also seemed devoid of emotion, as though he had been through hell and came back to regret it. Naruto looked away from him when the Hokage began to speak to him.

"Naruto I spoke with Iruka and he tells me you have been doing poorly in class as of late. In fact it seems that you are already far behind in some of the work."

Naruto shook his head before answering his jisan, "Neh jiji, he's just upset because I've been sleeping through all the boring lessons. When we get to the _real_ ninja stuff then I'll show em who's boss."

Naruto then put down his chopsticks and pointed at the old man, "Then I'll show them that I WILL become Hokage."

At this the three heard a rasping laugh coming from the man at the end of the stand. He took a drink from his sake bottle before speaking with a hoarse voice, "You are going to be Hokage huh?"

"Yeah you got a problem with that?"

The man shook his head, "No, no problem. Just wondering if you really know what it means to be Hokage is all."

Naruto looked at the man puzzled, "Whadda ya mean? The Hokage is the strongest ninja in the village. What more is there?"

The stranger favored him with a critical gaze before answering.

"Being Hokage isn't about being the strongest kid. It's about making the safety and happiness of everyone in the village _your_ responsibility. In a sense everyone in the village will be one of your precious people."

"Precious people?" Naruto asked confused. The stranger nodded, "Your precious people are those that you would go through any lengths to protect. If they are in danger you would push yourself beyond that which you are normally capable of to keep them safe. I'm pretty sure consider the two beside you to be your precious people." With that the man got up to leave as he paid his bill Naruto asked him one last question.

"Do you have any precious people?'

The man paused a moment before answering, "I used to... but they were taken from me. Don't make my mistake kid. Never let your precious people go without a fight." And with that the man left.

As the group sat in silence the Hokage excused himself saying that he needed to finish some paperwork that he left at his office. As he made his way back towards the Hokage tower he paused beside an alley. After a moment he spoke.

"I didn't expect to see you again." Out of the alley walked the man from the Ichiraku ramen stand. After a moment he answered the aging leader.

"Tomorrow will be the sixth anniversary of their deaths. I thought it only right that I pay my respects."

He then looked back towards the ramen stand.

"He's grown..." Sarutobi chuckled at this.

"They tend to do that," Sarutobi paused for a moment before gesturing towards the sword that the man held in his hand, "What happened to _Kuroi no Kumo_?"

The man grimaced before answering, "It's blade was broken when I fought Kyuubi so I laid it to rest. This one is an work in progress."

"Well it is good to see you, regardless of the circumstances Getsu-san," at this the man interrupted Sarutobi.

"That's not my name anymore remember? 'Getsu' died fighting along side Minata six years ago."

Sarutobi nodded, mentally chastising himself on the slip. 'Getsu' had been regarded as one of the premier weapon masters of the shinobi world, if it was known that he had not died in the Kyuubi attack it would bring up some very difficult questions.

"Very well, then what is your name?"

The man scratched his chin as he answered, "Well, apparently I'm known in Hidden Mist as the _Konpeki Funbo. _So we'll just go with Grave for now."

The Hokage nodded, "Very well than, Grave-san."

* * *

**The Mitarashi-Uzumaki Residence**

"HEY BRAT!!! DON"T FORGET TO PACK UP YOUR GEAR FOR TOMORROW!!!"

Most people would complain about the level of noise coming from the apartment, and at one point in time they did. But a torso full of senbon and shuriken can make people very tolerant of the volume that some people chose to communicate at.

"ALRIGHT NECHAN!!!"

Anko lounged back and listened to the sound of her otouto scrambling to retrieve all the necessary gear for tomorrows all day training session. Last year she had decided that the only way to make sure that he was safe from the more inebriated villagers during the Kyuubi Festival, was to make sure that he was well outside the village when it started. As such, last year she took him on a day long training session to help him get ready for the Academy.

Anko smiled as she remembered how her tracking session had degenerated into a game of tag that day. She could only remember one time she had felt that happy.

When the Yondaime told her that he and his wife were working on adopting her.

At the time she had been considered a pariah by almost the entire village because of what the 'Hebi-teme' (Naruto's name for the missing-nin) had done. But then the one person that she respected even more than Orochimaru had reached out to her and offered her the one thing she had been denied. A home. She smiled as she watched Naruto struggle with a pack that was almost taller than he was before swearing an oath that she had made three years ago.

"_I have finally found a family..."_

Naruto stopped struggling with the pack long enough to give his nechan a wide foxy grin.

"_...and I will die before I let anything happen to him."_

* * *

**Outside the Mitarashi-Uzumaki Residence**

On top of a roof nearby four ninjas gathered, waiting for the last of their group to arrive. They were mostly chunin who were aware of Konoha's most secret law, and they all shared the same thoughts regrading a certain jinchuuriki. They tensed as they felt a chakra signature approaching but relaxed when their leader descended upon the roof.

"Mizuki, what took so long?"

The blond chunin grinned maliciously as he affixed a cloth mask over his head and face, obscuring any distinguishing features.

"I had to make several false alarms, for the next hour all of the ANBU will be busy searching for some Class B missing-nin on the other side of the village. By the time any alarm will reach them it will be too late."

He turned to look into a window that revealed Naruto in a headlock laughing as Anko knuckled his hair.

"By this time tomorrow my friends we will be known throughout the village as the Heroes that not only finished the Yondaime's work, but as the ones that eliminated Orochimaru's spy as well.

_To Be Continued..._

**Konpeki Funbo** – The Azure Grave

**Bunanoki** – Japanese beech tree

**Onsui** – Warm water

A/N

Whew, Prologue done.

Anyways here are my announcements.

First off the voting from my previous attempt will stand so this is now officially a NaruHina fic. If you don't like it then you don't have to read it. Do not flame me just because you don't agree with the pairing, all you're doing is embarrassing yourself.

Second, If anyone knows of a good translation site please tell me, I'm not all that thrilled about putting the technique names in English, personally I think putting them in Japanese adds something to the fic.

Third, originally the fic was going to be updated about once a week for about 5,000 words per chapter. This is no longer going to be possible for me. While it may be erratic I will try to update often for about the same as my previous promise of 5,000 words or more.

And with that I would like to thank you once more for reading this fic.

Please Read and Review

The Heretic Commands It!!!


	2. Shattered

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto there would be a whole lot more explosions… Lots more…He heh…Boom.

A/N after the chapter but for now enjoy.

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Chapter One

Shattered

**Rooftop near the Hokage Monument**

It was late at night when the figure adjusted his seat on the rooftop. He took a long look at the Hokage Monument before raising his jug of sake in a toast to the face of the Yondaime. As Grave wiped his chin he smiled up at the face of his dead friend.

_"It's been awhile... Gaki."_

Grave had been drinking for most of the day but was by no means drunk. His kind had notoriously strong constitutions but even he could hold his liquor better than most of them. He had the distinct honor of drinking two of the Legendary Sannin under the table without so much as a hiccup. He took another pull from his jug as he remembered two more of his friends from Konoha. This particular brand of sake had been introduced to him by Tsunade herself and was very much like Konoha. It was very much like any other kind of sake but it had a fire to it that burned as it went down, and it was this fire that made it so much better in his eyes

He smiled as he looked up at the monument once again remembering the first time he had seen Konoha's 'Will of Fire' in a certain blond.

_Flashback_

_Late at night, in a clearing deep within the forests of Konoha, a young man was breathing heavily. His clothing was dirty and tattered, a testament to his intense training. He suddenly turned to the edge of the clearing and spoke, "You know it's impolite to spy on someone without their permission." He was answered by a short laugh as a figure walked into the clearing. He grinned at the blond before answering._

"_Is that so? Well isn't it equally rude to accuse someone of something when you have no proof gaki?"_

_The blond tensed for a moment be__fore he retorted, "Gaki? Fool,__ I am Namikaze Minato. Chunin of the Hidden Leaf, known far and wide as Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja..."_

_After he said this the blond rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly._

"_... At least I will__ be__ if I ever get this stupid jutsu perfected."_

_At this the stranger arched an eyebrow._

"_'Perfected'? What's so hard about a simple shunshin no jutsu?" The blond shook his head before correcting him._

"_It's not shunshin, it's even better. What I am making will allow me to instantly teleport wherever I want with perfect accuracy..." Minato scowled before continuing, "... that is if I can ever get it right."_

_The stranger looked at him curiously. "Why are you working yourself to death over this?" He asked. "It seems like a little much for a new version of a tried and true jutsu if you ask me." He sat down and leaned his back against a nearby tree, he then motioned for Minato to do the same._

_Minato chose his words carefully as he sat down opposite the man, his eyes locked on the ground before him. After a few moments he started._

"_My family was killed when I was twelve... I am the last of the Namikaze clan."_

_The man tilted his head wondering why Minato was mentioning this. _

"_...I ... I felt so alone... so... sad. When ever I return from a mission or a battle I see that same loneliness and sadne__ss in the faces of all those who__ have been orphaned in this war." He looked up at the man with determination in his eyes. _

"_What I want is to make that sadness, that loneliness disappear. I want to end this war so no one else has to endure the pain of being the last of their family." He stared at his clenched fists before continuing, "This jutsu will allow me to do just that."_

_The man looked at Minato for a few moments before standing up. He walked over to the chun__in and held out his hand to him.__ Minato looked at him questioningly._

"_Come on, I__'ll__ help you out a bit..." The man smiled, "After all__ two heads are better than one, maybe I can help fix this super jutsu of yours."_

_Minato smiled before taking the offered hand, "Thank you, by the way what's your name?"_

_The man looked up at the full moon before answering._

"_The name'__s... Getsu."_

_End Flashback_

It had taken them almost a week, but they had finally perfected the jutsu. They realized early on that the main problem with the jutsu was that you had very little control over where you were actually arriving. Like a lighting bolt, the path you traveled as well as where you landed was very unpredictable, as was evidenced one time when Minato accidentally landed in the women's hotsprings. Eventually they decided that the only way to control the lightning's path was with a lightning rod. The result of this epiphany was seal formula that attracted anyone that traveled using this jutsu in a form of reverse summoning. It was then that the legendary _Hiraishin no Jutsu_ was perfected.

Grave looked down at the tri-pronged kunai he held in his hand as he remembered the last time he spoke with his friend.

_Flashback_

_Namikaze Minato was in his office when his friend arrived, in his arms he held a small blond boy that was sleeping soundly as the man rocked him back and forth. Grave watched the two before speaking up. _

"_So that's him huh?"_

_Minato started at the sudden noise before seeing his friend, he nodded hesitantly before setting the baby down in a nearby crib that was ringed with candles. He looked down at the boy sadly before speaking. "He has my hair..."_

_Grave gave a slight grin, "Yeah he does... poor kid."_

_As Minato gave a small chuckle Grave looked around the room before looking back at his friend. The man was oddly sad for someone whose wife just gave birth to his first born son. It was then that Grave realized something. He walked over to the Yondaime's side a put a hand gently on his shoulder._

"_Minato... where is Kushina?"_

_Minato swallowed the lump in his throat as he spoke, "She... She refused to leave... s__aid that a medic nin's place is__ where t__here are__ wounded... she was barely able to keep Kakashi's heart beating before..." The man wiped away the tears that were running down his face before looking down at his son and continuing, "She named him Naruto..."_

_He gave a sad grin, it was then that Grave noticed a spiral shaped seal inked onto the infant's navel. His eyes wide with recognition he turned to the Yondaime, "You're actually going to go through with it?"_

_The young Hokage nodded, "It's the only way."_

_Grave scowled before forcing his friend to look at him. "Listen to me Minato, there has to be another way. I could unseal it and be back here in a day and a half if I push myself to the breaking point."_

_The blond shook his head as he made his way to his desk. "By the time you get back Konoha will be a smoking ruin." As he reached into one of the drawers before turning to his friend. "This is the only way..." he sad softly._

_Grave stared at the ceiling for a few moments in contemplation before speaking. "You do know that this jutsu of yours will require you to actually be in physical contact with the fox for it to work__ right?" He turned to face the blond. "Kyuubi isn't going to sit around while you do this." Minato nodded wearily, "I'll need about two minutes."_

_Grave nodded as he took in this information. After a few moments he straightened up and looked at his friend. "Well between me and Gamabunta we should manage that long."_

_Minato stared at his friend in shock, "You mean?" Grave nodded, "Ten years ago I swore that I would help you protect you__r__ village and I intend to keep that promise."_

_The blond smiled gratefully as he made his way over to the dark haired man and handed him a scroll. Grave arched his eyebrow at the scroll._

"_Every jutsu that I have ever created is on that scroll. I want you to promise me that when you think he is ready you'll to teach Naruto all of them."_

_Grave grinned, "Trying to con me into another promise Minato?"_

_The blond smiled, "It's the last one that I'll ever ask you for."_

_The swordsman snorted at his friend's poor attempt at humor before nodding. He turned to look out the window at the distant form of the demon fox before speaking._

"_I promise..."_

_He turned back to his friend with a look of unwavering determination on his face._

"_...that your son will surpass you."_

_End Flashback_

Grave looked at his friends face one more time before standing up and draining the last of the sake from his jug.

It was time for him to keep his promise.

* * *

**Mitarashi-Uzumaki Residence**

Naruto was halfway under his bed when Anko found him.

"Naruto what are you doing?"

The young blond pulled himself out from under the bed and held up nine tags. "I can't find one of the explosive tags we grabbed of that shopkeeper last week."

Anko allowed herself a small grin at the memory of that particular incident.

The shopkeeper in question had refused to sell to Naruto on the basis that it was his right to refuse service. When the blond had attempted to argue with him he had tried to strike Naruto. The ANBU had found the shopkeep, an hour later, hog tied and hanging from the ceiling. He had been gagged with a small wad of bills and a note saying that should cover some of what had been taken.

Anko shook her head before speaking, "Well hurry up and find it. It's almost midnight and if we want to spend the _entire_ day away from the village then we need to get going, okay?"

The blond gave an grunt before he continued searching.

"If you hurry then maybe I'll teach you a cool jutsu."

The blond perked up at the obvious bribe and began his search with a renewed vigor.

As she turned, Anko shrugged at the cold chill she felt despite the thick chunin vest that she wore. Although she kept her tone light the truth was she was starting to get a little anxious. In the past years the villagers had made a point to wreck Naruto's apartment on his birthday in the hopes that they might actually catch and kill the 'demon child' in one of their little raids. Although the ANBU that were usually assigned to Naruto headed of the mob before any real damage was done, Anko didn't want to spend any longer than was necessary in the village.

Anko smiled as her otouto attacked a pile of clothes in the corner of the room in his attempt to locate the wayward tag. _"Leave it to Naruto to lose a high__ powered__ explosive. Most nin would be panicking right about now." _She thought as she walked back into the main room to pack up another cup of instant ramen in their food bag.

* * *

**Exterior of the Apartment**

Mizuki stood vigilant on the roof, watching for any sign that they had been spotted. Below him his comrades began to rig the door with a breaching tag. The tag itself was a work of art that had originally been designed by the Yondaime during the war.

The tag consisted of couple different parts; first were a series of thin scroll like tags that were stretched between six different points on the door. The strips were focused explosive tags that would send their full power in only the direction they were faced. Next was a small scale explosive tag that would detonate after the explosive strips, sending the remains of the door into the room.

The Yondaime had come up with it when Konoha began storming Iwagakure strongholds. Some of the doors had been built to withstand even the most powerful of katon jutsus. When faced with this dilemma, Minato did what he did best, he improvised. Because of the effectiveness of the tag, it had been made a standard part of the of the field kit for assault missions.

Mizuki saw one of the team signal that the tag was ready and allowed himself a malicious grin.

_"How fitting," he thought. "O__ne of the Yondaime's many contribution__s__ will help finish what he started six years ago."_

Below him the nin at the door activated the tag's five second delay and readied his kunai...

* * *

**Interior**

As Anko set the last of the bags she heard a faint sound coming from the other side of the door. Anko turned just in time to see the door detonate in a flash of light and a deafening roar. The explosion lifted her of her feet and threw her at the far wall which gave slightly as she hit. Her head swam as she looked up at what had once been their front door. She watched with muted interest as four masked men slowly made their way in through the opening.

_"Are they enemy nin? If so then where are the ANBU?"_ Anko thought to herself, but as she caught a glimpse of a konoha hitae-ate she felt a cold chill run down her spine. _"Konoha... We are being attacked by our own people?!" _She saw one of them turn to the others and bark out an order but because of the ringing in her ears she couldn't hear what it was. She looked at the three that had moved to search the room and saw that they all wore chunin vests while the one standing and watching them wore the vest of a chunin commander. _"Standard four man cell... what the hell is going on?"_

She tried to stand up but her motions caught the attention of one of the nin. As she rose to her knees she felt a gloved hand close around her throat and lift her up. When she opened her eyes she was looking at the masked face of one of the intruders. The man scrutinized her for a few moments before speaking.

"Where is the demon?"

Anko sneered at the man before spitting in his face. As he began to tremble in anger she noticed with a detached interest that there was a lot of blood mixed in with her spit. _"Damn... must have bi__t__t__en__ my tongue."_ She was brought out of her reverie when the nin that had her by the throat growled and pulled out one of his kunai. He held it above his head for a moment before bringing it down. Anko let out a strangled cry and when she felt pain blossom in her left arm, she looked down and saw that the chunin had buried the weapon nearly up to the hilt just below her shoulder. The man then threw her across the room where she landed in a heap beside the couch.

As Anko tried to push past the pain she heard one of the chunin come into the room from Naruto's bedroom. The chunin gave Anko a dark look before turning to the commander and speaking.

"The demon isn't here."

At this Anko felt her spirits soar briefly. _"He must have gotten away,__"_ she thought hopefully, but what the commander said next dashed those hopes. "That's impossible. We sealed every entrance except the front door. It would take a seal master to break them and the demon hasn't that kind of power with that body he's hiding in."

It was then Anko noticed something partially hidden by the couch by her left arm. She turned and saw something that brought a small grin to her face. There underneath the couch was Naruto's missing explosive tag. She shot the attackers a quick glance before grabbing for the tag, and as she began to prepare the tag she saw something that made her eyes widen in shock.

* * *

Naruto felt his blood boil as he watched the intruders throw his sister across the room but before he could throw himself at them he heard the strange voice again.

**"****.don't kit!!!"**

He didn't know where it was coming from, it sounded as though it was coming from across a great distance, but it had been it that had told him to hide when the front door had exploded. He shook his head before focusing on the enemy that had invaded his home. _"I can go crazy later right now I have to help N__e__e-chan."_

**"...wait..."**

Naruto gritted his teeth in irritation, _"Wait for what?"_

It was then that one of the chunin walked over to Anko, when he reached for her she threw a sloppy punch at his face that he easily blocked. The nin twisted her arm until he was behind her, he then leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. Naruto couldn't hear what was said but from Anko's expression it was probably a good thing. He then pushed her forward so that they were surrounding her with their weapons drawn. As they continued to question her, Naruto saw her throw a quick glance at his hiding spot before returning her gaze to the ground in front of her. His attention was brought to her hands when she began to make a series of gestures that he almost missed but recognized as some hand signals that she had taught him.

_Prepare. Smoke. Wait for Signal._

Naruto realized after a moment that she must have done something to the enemy chunin earlier. After a brief hesitation he allowed the henge around his hand to drop and signaled his acknowledgment.

_Don't screw up._

* * *

Anko smiled inwardly at Naruto's reply, just like her otouto to make a joke at a time like this. She turned her attention back to the enemy, because she could no longer think of them as fellow Konoha nin if she and her otouto were going to survive, and prepared herself. She steeled herself and with her good arm signaled a single word.

_NOW._

Anko immediately threw herself towards between the nearest of the nins while beginning a series of one handed seals before calling out her jutsu name.

"Jibaku Fuda: Kassei!"

In an instant the explosive tag that she had planted on one of the nins detonated and shredded the unsuspecting shinobi. The three remaining ninjas stared at the smoking remains of their comrade and because of this they entirely missed it when a rather ugly lamp in the corner was suddenly changed into a certain blond.

"Take this you jerks!!!"

The intruders turned just in time to have a total of four smoke bombs detonate in their faces. In less than a second the apartment was filled with a dense cloud of smoke that had completely obscured their vision.

By the time that the smoke cleared they were alone in the apartment.

The 'Demon' had escaped.

* * *

**Outside the Apartment**

Mizuki waited patiently for his comrades to finish their mission. True, he had chosen not to participate in the actual death of the demon, but his role was important nonetheless. It had been thanks to his efforts that they even had the opportunity to make the attack. It was due to his effort that the ANBU squads that were usually assigned to watch over the hellspawn and his sister were appropriately distracted. At that moment they, and the majority of all of the ANBU in Konoha, were on the otherside of the village investigating the sightings of a number of A ranked missing nin.

Mizuki shook his head at the need for the deception but it was necessary. It had been apparent from the start that the demon had the Hokage and many of the ANBU under his thrall, after all it was the only explanation as to why the Hokage would go to such lengths to protect the creature or why the ANBU would even agree to do so.

The platinum haired nin was brought out of his musing by a sudden explosion that sounded from the apartment. He frowned as he heard a shout from inside.

_"We agreed to not use explosives after they breached the door. The ANBU may have been alerted by the breaching charge we don't need to give them any reason to hurry."_

It was then that he saw two figures rush out of the smoke that had been pouring out of the doorway. In a flash of blond he recognized them as the very pair that they were after. It appeared that the blond was unharmed, however, his adoptive sister seemed to be badly injured.

_"What happened?" _Mizuki wondered, he quickly made a note of which way the two were headed before he jumped down to check on the team. When they came out he immediately saw that one of them was missing.

"Where is Gisei?"

The leader of the group sneered and answered, "He's dead, the damn snake bitch killed him."

At this, Mizuki gritted his teeth in anger before pointing towards the Hokage tower.

"The two of them were heading that way, go after them and I'll take care of this."

He immediately started fishing through his kunai pouch, when he pulled out his hand he held a number of incendiary tags in it.

"We can't let anyone know what has happened until we have killed the demon."

The other three nin nodded their agreement and took to the roof tops. The leader stopped and turned towards Mizuki.

"Burn Gisei's body as well. We can't let the Demon Lovers know who was involved."

He then took off leaving Mizuki to carry out his chosen task.

* * *

**The Streets of Konoha**

In an alley not far from their apartment, the two figures of Naruto and Anko where hunched over trying to catch their breath. Anko was at the entrance of the alley with her kunai at the ready to strike anyone who entered, her heart was racing as her thoughts were occupied.

_They aren't following us..._

_Have we lost them already... _

_Why haven't the ANBU responded yet... _

_Can we make it to the Hokage..._

Suddenly from behind her she heard a soft crunch of broken glass being stepped on. She immediately turned with her kunai ready to strike to see...

A startled Naruto holding a roll of bandages out for her. At the sight of her confusion he pointed towards her arm which still had the kunai buried in it.

With a pained grin she took the roll from him before she wrenched the kunai out her arm and began dressing the wound. As she wrapped her arm, she kept an eye on her otouto, who had turned his gaze downward to the ground in front of him, on his face was a look of contemplation. As she finished with her wound she began to turn towards the street when she was stopped by Naruto calling out for her attention.

"Anko... What am I missing?"

She felt a chill run up her spine as she answered him, "What are you talking about Naruto?"

The boy's normally cheerful voice was devoid of emotion as he spoke, "Every time I ask you or Hokage-jiji about why everyone hated us so much, you would always tell me that it was because nobody trusted you after what the hebi-teme did."

The blond shook his head as he continued, "But that never seemed like it was the right answer. Even before you became my neechan they were always mean to me. They would always tell the other kids not to play with me, or that I was a troublemaker."

At this point tears were streaming down the blond's face and his voice began to grow louder.

"Why do they hate me?"

"Why do they call me a demon?"

"Why?"

"Why?"

"WHY???"

He was interrupted when Anko reached down and enveloped him in a tight hug. Ignoring the pain she was causing her wounded arm she held the boy tight.

"They are ignorant fools who wouldn't listen to the hero of our village," she whispered softly into his ear. She slowly drew back form him and looked him in the eyes.

"I swear to you otouto, when we get out of this me and the Hokage will tell you everything. Okay?"

The blond wiped the tears from his eyes before nodding. "Okay Neechan."

The teenaged kunoichi smiled began to return her attention to her arm. But before she could finish dressing her wound she caught the sound of voices coming from the street.

There in the middle of the street, searching every shadow, were their pursuers. Before they turned her way she ducked back into the alley.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked oblivious to the danger that they were in, "Why do you look so...mrpgh!!!"

He was cut off by his sister who had clamped her hand down on his mouth.

"Quiet!!!"

As her brother tried to remove the hand from his mouth, Anko's mind was racing. There was no way that they would be able to make it to the Hokage Tower now. With their enemy so close, they would be caught well before they reached the tower if they attempted to run. She then looked at Naruto, who had stopped struggling and had begun glaring at her, and slowly a plan began to form in her head. She removed her hand from his mouth, but before he could say a word she cut him off.

"Naruto... Do you know how to get to the ANBU headquarters from here?"

The blond tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, it's about half a mile west of here."

Anko nodded, "Good, now I want you to wait until we're out of sight then head straight for the ANBU, understand?"

"What?"

She gave him a said smile.

"I promised you a cool jutsu didn't I?"

She stepped away from him and then brought her hands up in a cross shaped seal.

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_

In an instant a puff of smoke appeared next to her to reveal a perfect copy. After a second the bunshin made another seal and was enveloped in smoke. When the smoke cleared it revealed a perfect copy of Naruto.

The blond stared at his copy in shock before rounding on his sister, "Anko what are you doing?"

The teenager gave her brother a serious look.

"Naruto, I'm going to lead them away from here. When I do I need you to run."

"But what if they catch you?"

"Just get to the ANBU and tell them what happened alright?"

Naruto felt his eyes begin to well up with tears.

"Anko... Why?"

She smiled before reaching out and ruffling his hair.

"It's like that geezer at Ichiraku's said, your my precious person Naruto..."

She then stood and made her way to the entrance of the alley.

"... and I will do everything in my power to protect you."

With one final smile she and her Naruto clone ran out into the street. Within second one of the enemy nin had spotted them and alerted the others and they began to give chase. After a few moments the street was once again empty save for one small boy who began weeping for his sister.

* * *

**Near the Uzumaki-Mitarashi Residence**

Grave slowly made his way down the streets in the direction of his soon to be student's apartment. Granted, most of him wanted to wait until morning so that the majority of the alcohol in his system could be purged, but he had been told by Sarutobi about the two siblings' plan and was hoping to catch them before they left.

He also didn't want to lose his nerve.

_"__How in the hell am I going to explain a__ll of this to him?"_ he thought idly as ran his hand over his unshaven face. It occurred to him that if he was going to take on Naruto as a student he would have to explain a few things. His parents, the Kyuubi, and the Sandaime's law...

He gave a sigh as he walked.

He was _not_ looking forward to this.

It was then the wind picked up a breeze came from the front, on reflex he took a whiff of the air. He immediately stood stock still his eyes widening. The breeze had brought with it a familiar set of scents, ones that he had encountered a number of times during the war. The sharp smell that came with the use of a breaching tag, the smell of smoke and fire, and the smell of...

Blood...

His instincts taking over Grave took of at full speed, his hand already at his blade's hilt, his mind saying a silent prayer.

_"Please let me be wrong."_

When he turned the corner he found himself facing the burning ruin of an apartment.

Naruto's apartment.

He stared at the apartment in shock, a single thought running through his head.

_"What happened here?"_

Shaking his head, he closed his eyes and began to sniffing the air. Within seconds he caught Naruto's scent leading away from the burning ruin, with him was another scent that he recognized as that of his adoptive sister and four others.

After taking a moment to get his bearings he took off in pursuit, a single thought running through his mind.

_"I will not fail you again Minato."_

* * *

A/N After an 8 month hiatus I have finally returned to the fanfic scene. I would like to thank all fo you for being so damn patient with me in getting this chapter out. It is not my intention to make you all wait this long for the next chapter.

And now an announcement.

I have, as you have noticed, edited chapter one for a few things that I missed the first time around, and to change the Fourth's name. As of one of the more recent chapters of the manga, The Yondaime's real name is Namikaze Minato. I am going with this name because it sounds cool and in the long run it doesn't really change my story any.

And with that I leave you with a simple request.

Read and Review.

The Heretic Commands It!!!


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